Rolex 24 at Daytona live updates, Hour 16: Porsche Penske Motorsport runs 1-2; Acura third

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26-01-2025

With eight hours remaining in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Porsche Penske Motorsport seems poised for a repeat.
Kevin Estre was running first in the No. 6 Porsche 963 after 515 laps, leading by nearly 5 seconds over teammate Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 963 that won the overall last year.
Felix Rosenqvist was in third with the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06, which has returned to the race from a one-year absence after consecutive overall victories in 2022-23. Rosenqvist was managing damage to the headlights that likely would require a nose change on the next pit stop.
HOUR 13: Overall results l By categoryHOUR 14: Overall results l By categoryHOUR 15: Overall results l By categoryHOUR 16: Overall results l By category
Two more Grand Touring Prototype cars were on the lead lap. The No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 was in fourth after starting on the pole position, and the No. 10 Cadillac rounded out the top five.
The No. 85 JDC Miller MotorSports Porsche was a lap down in sixth, and the No. 25 BMW was two laps down in seventh.
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The leaders in other categories after 16 of 24 hours:
—LMP2: No. 04 Crowdstrike Racing ORECA LMP2
—GTD Pro: No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R
—GTD: No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The car, which won the series championship last year, fell six laps down after pitting from the lead several hours later with a throttle assembly problem.
'I am super proud of the guys," No. 57 driver Philip Ellis said. "We earned so many laps back with half the race to go. It all proves to me we are one of the best in the IMSA paddock again. The crew put us back in the game again. Luckily, it was early in the race, and we had time to make up for it. I think we have a good car to go for the podium once again."
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The graveyard shift was unkind for two more entries in the Grand Touring Prototype category as the field of contenders narrowed to nearly half at the halfway point of the race.
The No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac suffered major damage in a collision with the Turn 4 wall shortly before midnight and dropped 53 laps down after bringing out the seventh yellow flag. Frederik Vesti was uninjured in the wreck that took a formerly leading car out of the running.
"I'm feeling all OK," Vesti said. "It was a pretty big crash. Initially, I thought it was a mistake from my side. But after I saw the video, it looks like a puncture or some other failure, which is very, very unfortunate for the team. We were running in such a good position for the race. I think it was almost halfway through, and we were among the top teams in terms of pace and strategy and everything. Really frustrated and sad for the team who put so much effort since testing in November, the Roar and everything.
"They are still working to bring back the car into the race. It would be a pretty amazing effort if we could actually finish the race with a crash like that. For now, the focus is to analyze what we wrong and see what we can do for the rest of the race."
Not long after the No. 31 incident, the No. 5 Porsche of Proton Competition was done after completing 352 laps. The car suffered suspension damage after holding the overall lead just after midnight.
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HALFWAY DRIVER STATS: Stint analysis l Time cards
At halfway with 388 laps complete, there were seven of 12 cars remaining on the lead lap in Grand Touring Prototype.
The running order: 1. No. 7 Porsche 963; 2. No. 6 Porsche 963; 3. No. 60 Acura; 4. No. 10 Cadillac; 5. No. 24 BMW; 6. No. 85 Porsche 963; 7. No. 25 BMW
The leaders in other categories:
—LMP2: No. 22 United Autosports ORECA LMP2 07
—GTD Pro: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO
—GTD: No. 70 Inception Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
After leading the Rolex 24 at Daytona with some typically brilliant driving by Kamui Kobayashi, the No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R is out of the race after starting a massive crash on a restart midway through the eighth hour.
Louis Deletraz, who had taken the wheel after an impressive triple stint by Kobayashi, lost control while entering Turn 1. Deletraz skidded into the grass and then back on the track in front of oncoming traffic. The No. 40 was hit by an LMP2 car, and several other GT cars piled into the wreck.
An hour later, NBC the No. 40 was retired after the team diagnosed the damage as unrepairable.
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In an interview with NBC Sports' Chris Wilner, Deletraz took the blame for the crash, having lost control on a new medium compound.
"Yeah, very cold tires; it's actually really tough at night," Deletraz said. "Yeah, big impact, actually. I'm fine. Luckily, we have a very strong car. Cadillac made a very safe car.
"I just felt like I went on power, lost it straight away. I think I didn't have enough heat in the tires. And after that, I got hit by an LMP2. I feel very sorry for the team, for my teammates. Yeah, just really ashamed that it happened so early in the race. And yeah, that's not so great. I think we started warming up (the tires) slightly too late. I opened up on Turn 1, I saw the JDC car coming in quite hot, so I just gave him space . I was very safe, just wanted to exit that corner and yeah sadly I didn't exit it."
The Wayne Taylor Racing entry, which was attempting to complete the race with three drivers after a virus sidelined original fourth driver Alex Lynn, joined the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 (which was 40 laps down after a mechanical failure) and the No. 63 Lamborghini (out after only 34 laps because of overheating) on the list of hybrid prototypes that won't be fighting for the overall victory.
The nine remaining cars in the Grand Touring Prototype category remained on the lead lap with 16 hours remaining, leaving the win up for grabs with a third of the race completed.
Through eight of 24 hours and 257 laps, the No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac led by 0.556 seconds over the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, the race's defending winner. The No. 60 Acura ARX-06 was in third, followed by the No. 6 Porsche 963 and the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 that started on the pole position.
Two hours earlier, Andy Lally's final Rolex 24 also came to an abrupt end because of an engine problem in the No. 22 Magnus Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO.
The winngest active driver at Daytona with five class victories in the Rolex 24, Lally is retiring from full-time driving to become president of the Trans-Am Series.
"Definitely not the way I wanted to go out," Lally told NBC Sports' Dillon Welch. "I pictured my last lap being a little bit different here. But honestly the thing I have to do, and the only thing that makes sense, is to reflect on some awesome times here. Some great teams, some great team owners, sponsors, especially some great team members, but especially Magnus Racing, 13 years straight with the same team owner, teammates and stuff like that doesn't happen very often in this sport. I'm a pretty fortunate guy.
"So to end like this, this is my first ever, in almost 25 years, motor explosion in the 24. It is what it is if it comes in the last one. I was still super grateful and lucky to have so many good ones before this. This is my most special (track). There's been amazing days."
With less than 16 hours remaining, seven of the 61 cars in the field had been eliminated.
The leaders in other categories through eight hours:
—LMP2: No. 22 United Autosports USA ORECA LMP2 07
—GTD Pro: No. 65 Ford Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3
—GTD: No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
As the sun set at Daytona International Speedway, a familiar face rose back to the top of the scoring pylon.
Racing in his first Rolex 24 in three years, Kamui Kobayashi drove the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R into the lead at the five-hour mark. Kobayashi, who won consecutive Rolex 24s with WTR in 2019-20, took his first lead when he passed the No. 6 Porsche of Kevin Estre at the 4:43 mark.
With 19 hours remaining and 136 laps complete, the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course was fully enveloped in darkness — and will be for roughly the next 12 hours. This is the stage in which the race can't be won but certainly can be lost, and drivers and teams will be trying to stay on the lead lap and in position until the sun rises with six-plus hours remaining to the checkered flag.
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But the nighttime also is when Kobayashi tends to shine, as he did in battling for the lead throughout the sixth hour.
While speaking with reporters in the Daytona media center, teammate Jordan Taylor was watching Kobayashi take the lead. Taylor revealed that Kobayashi had gone across the street Friday night to a 24-hour laundromat and washed his firesuit and underwear.
"He went out to the parking lot for an hour, watched Netflix, went back in, grabbed his clothes and came back to the track," Taylor told NBC Sports' Marty Snider and Dale Jarrett on the Peacock Pit Box. "I don't where he got the quarters from him. It's his little secret. I still have my mom doing my laundry, so maybe I need to figure something out."
Kobayashi had been absent from the Rolex 24 since 2022 while working as Toyota's World Endurance Championship team principal (and also driving). When team owner Wayne Taylor called with an offer to return, Kobayashi jumped at the opportunity after getting permission from his superiors at Toyota (and himself).
"A big appreciation to Cadillac (to have) this opportunity and of course Toyota give us the opportunity as well," Kobayashi told NBC Sports' Chris Wilner before his stint. "I think it's a bit challenging obviously. but we made it here and definitely I think this is I got more experience in IMSA because we are racing in the same championship in the WEC so obviously for myself, it's a good training."
The Japanese superstar needed little time getting up to speed in the new hybrid cars that made their IMSA debut in 2023.
'It's fun to watch him," Taylor said. "We knew he was going to be (pushing for the lead). You see it all weekend through practices watching his onboards and as he's learning the new car, you see him making the adjustments to the steering wheel and just having fun. That's his style and why people love him.
'That's exactly what I would expect from him watching a restart where everyone is kind of unsure about the conditions and he just goes forward.'
The fifth hour featured a few overall lead changes in the Grand Touring Prototype category with Robin Frijns (No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8), Laurens Vanthoor (No. 7 Porsche 963) and Felipe Drugovich (No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R) also taking turns at the point.
The race's second caution flag flew at the 4-hour, 5-minute mark as John Farano drove the No. 8 ORECA LMP2 07 off course in Turn 6.
A minute later, disaster struck for Alex Palou in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 of Acura Meyer Shank Racing. The three-time defending IndyCar Series champion also came to a stop in Turn 6 before his car needed a tow back to the garage with a left-rear stud failure.
Though the team feverishly repaired the wheel, the car had fallen 38 laps down when it returned on track more than an hour later. Meyer Shank Racing, which has returned to the Rolex 24 after missing last year's race, still has the No. 60 ARX-06 in the top five.
"Very tough to take that," team owner Mike Shank told NBC Sports' Chris Wilner. "We'll get it fixed up and go back out. Not good. We're better than this."
Leaders in other categories through five hours:
—LMP2: No. 88 Af Corse ORECA LMP2
—GTD Pro: No. 65 Ford Mustang GT3
—GTD: No. 78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo (including some laps led for NASCAR driver and part-time NBC Sports analyst Parker Kligerman
A Rolex 24 repeat could be in the offing for Porsche Penske Motorsport, whose 963s had settled in to the top two spots through four hours after a tough start.
With 136 laps completed, Laurens Vanthoor was leading in the defending overall winner No. 7, which was nearly 6 seconds ahead of the No. 6 driven by teammate Kevin Estre.
Felipe Nasr, who took the checkered flag last year to deliver Roger Penske his first Rolex 24 win in 55 years, qualified third in the No. 7 963 but slipped to fifth in the opening hour while struggling with the handling.
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But the car began to improve toward the end of the second hour after Nasr had handed off to Nick Tandy, and the No. 6 also hit its stride after starting 10th. Tandy had a particularly spirited battle for the lead during the fourth hour with No. 25 BMW driver Rene Rast.
After the 1-2 Porsche Penske Motorsport punch that ended Hour 4, the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 was in third, followed by the No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac.
The first yellow flag of the race came at the 2-hour, 7-minute mark as Hunter McElrea nerfed the No. 11 TDS Racing ORECA LMP2 07 into the Turn 5 tire barrier. He was able to continue after being pushed out a few minutes later.
Leaders in other categories:
—LMP2: No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2
—GTD Pro: No. 64 Ford Mustang GT3
—GTD: No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo
It was smooth sailing for Dries Vanthoor until he had to hand over the wheel of the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8.
After starting from the Rolex 24 at Daytona pole position and leading for much of the first 90 minutes, Vanthoor made a mistake on his second pit stop while turning the car over to Philipp Eng.
Vanthoor brushed the pit wall and parked at an awkward angle that forced the pit crew into a scramble and slowed the stop by more than 30 seconds. The team then was hit with a drive-through penalty for refueling while on stands during the pit stop.
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The No. 24 dropped from first to 10th in the Grand Touring Prototype category, and the No. 93 HRC Meyer Shank Acura ARX-06 took the lead with Nick Yelloly behind the wheel.
The No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac was 10 seconds behind in second, followed by the No. 7 Porsche 963.
Of the 12 entries in the premier hybrid prototype class, 11 were on the lead lap, and one already was out.
The No. 63 Automobili Lamborghini Squadra Corse Lamborghini SC63 was retired by Mirko Bortolotti because of overheating after completing 34 laps in one hour and 24 minutes. It was a tough debut at Daytona for the Lambo, which made its entry in GTP at Sebring last year. The race ended without Romain Grosjean, Daniil Kyvat and Edoardo Mortara.
The yellow flag stayed holstered for the first two hours, marking the Rolex 24 cleanest start in five years.
The leaders in other categories at Hour 2:
—LMP2: PJ Hyett led in the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07.
—GTD Pro: Laurin Heinrich led in the No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
—GTD: Russell Ward led in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3
Through the first round of pit stops in the 24-hour endurance race, pole-sitter Dries Vanthoor remained in the lead of the Rolex 24 at Daytona after the first hour.
In the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, Vanthoor held a comfortable lead of nearly 14 seconds over Nick Yelloly in the No. 93 Acura ARX-06.
Jack Aitken was third in the No. 31 Whelen Action Express Cadillac, followed by Tom Blomqvist in the No. 60 Acura and Felipe Nasr in the No. 7 Porsche 963 (the defending overall winner of the race.
There were no yellow flags in the first hour as the race got off to a clean start.
HOUR 1: Overall results l By category
The leaders in other categories:
—LMP2: Despite a transponder problem that required an adjustment during the team's regularly scheduled pit stop, the No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07 was in first with PJ Hyett behind the wheel.
—GTD Pro: Dan Harper led in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
—GTD: Philip Ellis led in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3.
The Rolex 24 is under way at Daytona International Speedway, where Dries Vanthoor has led the first 20 laps of the 24-hour endurance race from the pole position in the No. 24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8.
This is BMW's first pole position in Grand Touring Prototype, which is entering its third season as the premier class in IMSA.
In the No. 93 Acura ARX-06, Nick Yelloly was in second after starting on the front row of the twice-around-the-clock sports car spectacle that opens the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar championship season. Yelloly drives for Meyer Shank Racing, which has returned to Daytona after a one-year absence following its consecutive overall Rolex 24 victories in 2022-23.
Jack Aitken was third in the No. 31 Cadillac of Whlen Action Express.Also starting on the front row is the No. 93 Acura ARX-06 of
Felipe Nasr, part of the race's defending overall winner in the Porsche Penske Motorsports' No. 7 963, was in fifth after starting third.
The leaders in the other three categories through the first 30 minutes:
—Le Mans Prototype 2: No. 99 AO Racing ORECA LMP2 07
—Grand Touring Daytona Pro: No. 1 Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2
—GTD: No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R
The start was relatively clean aside from a spin for Nick Boulle, who lost control of his United Autosports No. 2 LMP2 entering Turn 2 on the first lap. Boulle continued on without damage, and the race stayed green.
The 63rd Rolex 24 at Daytona will be streamed on Peacock, which will have coverage of the event from flag to flag (click here for information on how to sign up for Peacock).
Broadcast coverage of the race coverage will begin Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock before moving to USA Network and Peacock from 2:30-6:30 p.m. and then will be exclusively on Peacock and IMSA.TV and YouTube until noon on Sunday, Jan. 26, The conclusion of the Rolex 24 will run from noon through 2 p.m. on NBC and Peacock.
Leigh Diffey, Brian Till and Dave Burns will announce the race alongside analysts Calvin Fish, Townsend Bell, Dale Jarrett, James Hinchcliffe and Parker Kligerman. Bell, Hinchcliffe and Kligerman also are driving in the event.
Marty Snider will anchor coverage from the Peacock Pit Box with Jarrett. Kim Coon, Kevin Lee, Dillon Welch, Chris Wilner and Matt Yocum will be the pit reporters.
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